Abstract
Mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) are recognized neurotoxins in children that particularly affect neurodevelopment and intellectual performance. Based on the hypothesis that the fetal basis of adult disease is fetal toxic exposure that results in adverse outcomes in adulthood, we explored the concentrations of key neurotoxins (i.e., Hg, Pb, Cd, and As) in meconium to identify the risk factors associated with these concentrations. From January 2007 to December 2009, 545 mother-infant pairs were recruited. The geometric mean concentrations of Pb and As in the meconium of babies of foreign-born mothers (22.9 and 38.1 µg/kg dry weight, respectively) were significantly greater than those of babies of Taiwan-born mothers (17.5 and 33.0 µg/kg dry weight, respectively). Maternal age (≥30 y), maternal education, use of traditional Chinese herbs during pregnancy, and fish cutlet consumption (≥3 meals/wk) were risk factors associated with concentrations of key prenatal neurotoxins. The Taiwan government should focus more attention on providing intervention programs for immigrant mothers to help protect the health of unborn babies. Further investigation on how multiple neurotoxins influence prenatal neurodevelopment is warranted.
Highlights
Childhood can be regarded as a sequence of life stages from conception through fetal development, infancy, and adolescence [1]
The hypothesis regarding the ‘‘fetal basis of adult disease’’ indicates that fetal toxic exposures may result in adverse outcomes in adulthood [3]–[5]
The study found that high Hg, Cd, and Thallium concentrations in cord blood were negatively associated with Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessments (NBNA) scores
Summary
Childhood can be regarded as a sequence of life stages from conception through fetal development, infancy, and adolescence [1]. The hypothesis regarding the ‘‘fetal basis of adult disease’’ indicates that fetal toxic exposures may result in adverse outcomes in adulthood [3]–[5] Heavy metals, such as mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As), are recognized neurotoxins in children that affect neurodevelopment and intellectual performance [6]. A New Zealand cohort study found no significant associations between maternal hair Hg concentration during pregnancy and the psychological test performance of children, but provided support for a significant relationship between prenatal Hg exposure and neurodevelopment [18]. Trasande et al investigated the health and economic consequences of methyl Hg exposure attributed to Hg emitted from American power plants [19] They found that each year in the United States, more than 316588 babies had cord blood Hg levels .5.8 mg/L, which can cause lifelong loss of intelligence. Children exposed to Hg in the prenatal or postnatal period may have a reduction in neurobehavioral performance and alteration in psychomotor development
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